Getting Organized

Getting Organized

We all spend too much time beating ourselves up about things we’d like to change, whether it’s a bad habit or not executing important business tasks. Any number of things can weigh heavy on our shoulders. And as we get busier, the burden of the bad habit, or the workload of being behind on important tasks, just gets heavier. Sometimes we rationalize with ‘when this, then…’ thoughts. When I get caught up I’m going to … [fill in the blank: start doing this, stop doing that, etc.]. But that magic moment in time – ‘then’ – never seems to arrive, and before we know it we find ourselves entrenched …

There are all kinds of advantages to working from home in your own dog business. Obviously hanging out with the dogs is top of the list. Working in your pajamas, setting your own schedule, running to the kitchen for a tea or coffee hit, and the absence of distracting coworkers and unreasonable supervisors probably make many a dog pro’s list as well.
But there are the downsides, too, most of which stem from a lack of imposed structure and accountability. Left to one’s own devices and surrounded by the distractions of home (dogs, other family members, laundry, dishes in the sink, the TV, the …

As small business owners we live with never-ending to-do lists and a constant frustration that there aren’t more hours in the day. While we can’t do anything about that last complaint, it turns out that how we use the first hour of each day can significantly improve the productivity of the rest.
Many successful people and “success gurus” have weighed in on how to use that first hour. While there’s no consensus about the one best way to start the workday, here are several strategies to consider.
No Email or Facebook. (Really!)
We’ve all experienced it: A whole day spent at our desks, …

Despite all of mankind’s advancements we’ve still not found a way to add hours to the day, be two places at once, or stop time to get a few more things done. Most small business owners long for these breakthroughs. But as they don’t appear imminent, here are some non-science fiction approaches to lengthen your day. The trick is to work smarter, not harder.
Schedule it
We’ve written in the past about using a master schedule, but it bears repeating. A master schedule breaks each week into blocks of time dedicated to certain tasks—marketing, administrative work, time to see clients, etc. And …

We’ve written at various points about the benefits of using a master schedule—an organizational tool that allots regular, pre-set slots of time for specific tasks. A dog trainer’s master schedule might, for example, include specific times each week for seeing private training clients, teaching classes, prepping for each, marketing, administrative tasks, and so on. A dog walker's schedule will replace training appointments and classes with meet & greets slots and dog walks. A good master schedule also sets aside regular down time, allowing dog pros to enjoy consistent days off and a …

Depending on where you live, summers and holidays likely see RVs rolling down the highway, station wagons and SUVs loaded down with bicycles and camping gear, school-age children screaming through local parks in the middle of the weekdays, or tourists sauntering about with cameras and pointing index fingers. What about you? Did you get a break this year?
Everywhere we travel giving business talks for dog pros, we hear the same refrain: “I haven’t had a vacation in years.” “I couldn’t possibly take time off.” People have even tried to tell us that it’s impossible for a dog …

Not so long ago, we thought of multitasking as something only computers could do. But now it’s a required skill listed on most human job descriptions, usually somewhere after “detail-oriented.” And with cell phones, Twitter, CNN, and flat-screen TVs on gym treadmills all vying for our attention, we can be forgiven for thinking ourselves capable of tackling more than one thing at a time.
But if you’ve been stuck behind a driver on a cell phone you know that multitasking rarely works as well as we’d like to believe. Our brains simply aren’t wired that way. Multiple studies have shown that …

If you have your own space, you know the responsibility of carrying monthly overhead and the extra chores involved in keeping a facility running. But are you making the most of it?
Brand it.
Clients having a good experience in your space is the most important thing-- that they enjoy and benefit from your classes or private training, that they feel their dog is well cared for in your daycare or boarding facility. But how your space looks will also impact their impression of you, your business, and your services.
We don’t all have budgets that allow for a state-of-the-art facility fully …

Ring, Ring!
Many dog pros feel like slaves to their telephones, reporting a near compulsion to answer them no matter the hour, inconvenience, or what else may be going on. What if the call goes to voice mail and the potential client moves on to another choice?
Put the Phone Down
There are several compelling reasons to put the phone down.
• Answering calls throughout the day hurts efficiency and productivity.
• It can also contribute to burnout by eroding the work/home barrier. Having and enforcing set work and non-work hours when running a business is key to enjoying your …

Structure abounds in our culture and we’re accustomed to its rule. From school and college and into the workplace, the majority of us rely throughout our lives on some form of exterior framework to keep us on track. Little wonder, then, that many small business owners struggle with the sudden lack of direction self-employment presents. At one end of the spectrum, entrepreneurs report feeling adrift. Faced with the myriad tasks that vie for attention every day, they scatter their efforts and accomplish only dribs and drabs, either because nothing actually has to be done right this moment, or …

If you’re reading this column, chances are you’ve been trained to work with dogs, and well trained. But running a business, any business, calls for a Renaissance skill set and unreasonable amounts of time: in past columns I’ve touched on the stress of adding administrative duties, accounting, bookkeeping, marketing, etc. to your job as dog trainer. New clients often say to me that it feels impossible, and I agree—it is. Which is why one secret to success in business is to do what you do well and get help with the rest.
The majority of dog pros set out in the world of business on a …